Review: Wu-Tang Clan drops hip-hop excellence

December 12, 2007 · Filed Under Hip Hop, Music News

When the Wu-Tang Clan fire on all cylinders, they simply operate on a different level from everyone else in hip-hop.

It’s on display throughout “The 8 Diagrams” (Loud/SRC) - the hip-hop conglomerate’s first album since 2001’s “Iron Flag,” as well as its first since the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard in 2004 - in the moments when RZA’s dense, meticulously crafted beats get surrounded by the dark, gritty rhymes of the rest of the Clan.

The centerpiece is the epic “The Heart Gently Weeps,” based on a sample from George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which is augmented by guitarwork from Harrison’s son, Dhani, and Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante. Over the fuzzy-dream riffs and between pretty, female-driven hooks sung by Erykah Badu, Raekwon and Ghostface take turns telling a terrible tale of how staying in on a snowy night to watch “Raisin in the Sun” devolves into a murderous rampage and how revenge shootings play out in a Pathmark. It drives home the theme of darkness lurking around every corner, a feeling echoed in “Life Changes,” a touching tribute to Ol’ Dirty Bastard, built around the haunting soul hook, “I go through life pretending that time will change the ending.”

Full Story Via NewsDay.com